I wrote a book, what's next?

Question

I have everything ready to publish, this is my first one, whats next? who do I contact? will I need some money to publish? thanx in advance

Answer 1

There are two types of publishing: Traditional and Self-Publishing. You will first need to decide which of these methods you want to pursue. Each has advantages and disadvantages that need to be researched. For instance, traditional publishing can be a very long road, littered with MANY rejections. Self-publishing will guarantee you a printed copy of your book, however you will not see it in a brick-and-mortar bookstore.

http://www.lulu.com is, in my opinion, the best self-publisher around. You can set up your book on their website, for free, and they will print copies as they are purchased. They do not edit your book, so you will need to take care of that on your own. This will also NOT get your book in a traditional bookstore, although you can purchase a very affordable package that would allow sale of your book through online bookstores like Amazon.

"Writer's Market", along with "The Guide to Literary Agents" are my two suggestions for diving into the traditional publishing market. I suggest looking for an agent first because they are the best step through the publishing door, plus they will negotiate your contract for you. You will create a submission package that matches the agents preferences (some, for instance, just want a query letter and synopsis in your first contact with them while others want more). Once you find an agent that is willing to represent you, they will market your book to publishers. Remember, in traditional publishing you should not be paying for anything! They get paid when you get paid!

Also keep in mind that this can be a long process. You will probably not get a lot of positive responses right away, and the rejection can be disheartening. But keep it up and you will find a home for your story!

The publisher and agent you'll use does not have to be located in the same state you live in (in fact, most authors do not live near theirs). So don't let distance be a worry!

You do not need to copyright your book before you query agents. The publisher who prints your story will take care of the official paperwork, but the copyright is already yours the moment you put the words on the page. Don't waste your time or money copyrighting something which you will most likely have to edit and rewrite repeatedly after you get an agent and publisher.

Here are five websites that can help. Read them thoroughly (especially Miss Snark-- love her!) and research, research, research! These can help you determine if the agent is legit or not:
http://misssnark.blogspot.com/
http://www.agentquery.com/
http://www.anotherealm.com/prededitors/
http://www.publishersmarketplace.com
http://www.duotrope.com

And don't think about taking an agent from this list, they are SCAMS:
http://www.sfwa.org/beware/twentyworst.html

Good luck, and happy writing!

Answer 2

Your approach can vary depending on fiction or nonfiction. When you say that you have everything ready to publish does this include a plan for promoting and marketing your book. Have you defined your target audience? No matter if you self publish or go with a traditional publisher, you will need to promote and market your own book. The publisher is only going to do so much.

Self-publishing, you do it all; however, if you have a good plan to promote it, it can be more successful than traditional publishers in terms of profits. With self-publishing, you will need some cash to start. You can go with a self-publishing company or find a printer to print your books.

Do some research on agents and approach them. However, they do not get any money until you make money. Let them find you a publisher. That's their job.

Attend writers conferences. I just attended the Las Vegas Writer's Conference. I had an opportunity to pitch my book idea to agents and publishers during one-on-one sessions.
They liked it and want to see the entire manuscript. Now, I have to finish the book to send them.

Best Wishes!

Answer 3

You will only need money to self publish and I highly recommend you dont do that because you will end up with a box of books to sell to friends with no help from the publisher.

First buy yourself a copy of Writers Market 2007. It will be the best 30 bucks you ever spend. Then read it and start learning about the publishing business.

Secondly, if you go to Resolved Questions here and search publishers and publishing key words, you will find that the question has been asked here dozens and dozens of times and there are a ton of great answers archived that you can print out and study.

Good luck. Pax - C.

Answer 4

There's a magazine called Writer's Digest that you should be able to find in any good bookstore (or even a supermarket!). It might be in your library. They talk about how to get published, and they also have books about the writing markets that are out there. You shouldn't have to pay any money to get published, as long as your book is desirable. But sometimes it takes a lot of rejections before you hook up to the right publisher who wants you! Do your research, and keep trying.

If it's in a genre, there are lots of associations that often have on-line help. RWA for romance writers, the mystery writers have their own association, science fiction and fantasy writers can find info at www.sfwa.org/writing, etc.

Good luck! Writing a book is the hardest part!

Answer 5

Check do you have the manuscript ready to hand over to publisher. If you are a fresh write you may have to pay something. Try to contact publisher as much as you can, you may get e rocketgin deal, if your book ipresses them.

Answer 6

How a pair of tale a pair of female named Laurie C, an aspiring teenager author who suffers from author's block. She is going onto Yahoo solutions searching for concepts and instead gets blended up with a registered intercourse criminal, whose overtures are thwarted in basic terms interior the eleventh hour via the FBI, who used provisions interior the PATRIOT Act to place warrantless surveillance on the molester. of course, that's in basic terms a skeleton - you will would desire to place the beef and potatoes in it.